German bishops urge stability amid political turmoil following government collapse

CNA Newsroom, Nov 8, 2024 / 12:25 pm (CNA).

A day after Donald Trump won reelection to the U.S. presidency and Germany’s coalition government collapsed, Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Munich sought to calm fears about political instability in Europe’s largest economy.

“No civil war is threatening us,” Marx said Thursday during the closing press conference of the Bavarian bishops’ fall assembly in Munich.

“Rather, we can make a new beginning in an orderly way,” the cardinal said, according to CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news partner.

“I believe we underestimate in our country what it means to have functioning institutions that can also deal with difficult situations,” Marx added.

The current chairman of the German Bishops’ Conference, Bishop Georg Bätzing of Limburg, also weighed in on the situation, urging the need for social cohesion and solidarity.

The prelate stressed the importance of the art of political compromise in navigating the current situation — and said he trusted politics to achieve this, according to Domradio.

Marc Frings, secretary-general of the lay group Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK), said in an interview that Germany was entering “a phase of massive uncertainty,” pointing to the fact that early termination of governments is an exception rather than the rule in German politics.

Germans to go to the polls in new year

The comments came after Chancellor Olaf Scholz dismissed Finance Minister Christian Lindner on Wednesday, leading to the withdrawal of all ministers from Lindner’s Free Democratic Party (FDP) from the governing coalition.

Deutsche Welle reported that the move ended the three-party alliance between Scholz’s Social Democrats (SPD), the Greens, and the FDP, which has been mired in controversies.

According to the Neue Zürcher Zeitung, deep disagreements over financial policy triggered the government’s collapse, particularly the dispute over constitutional debt limits, with Scholz and the Greens favoring higher social and climate spending.

Speaking to reporters in Budapest, where he joined EU leaders for their first meeting since the coalition’s collapse, Scholz advocated for a calm approach to scheduling new elections.

“We should discuss the possible date with as little agitation as possible,” Deutsche Welle quoted the chancellor as saying.

“It would be good if the democratic parties in the Bundestag now reach a consensus on which laws can still be passed in the chamber this year.”

The chancellor announced he would seek a vote of confidence in Parliament in January, potentially leading to new elections in March.

Opposition leader Friedrich Merz and others have called for a much earlier vote.

According to recent polls, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) leads with 34% support while the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) has risen to 18%. The SPD currently polls at 16%, the Greens at 12%, and the FDP at 5%.